>> plus, deadly gunfire at the border. the uneasy truce between israel and gaza. >> it's friday, november 23rd. the day after thanksgiving. "starting point" begins right now. our starting point today the black friday shopping binge. stores across the country have been open for hours now, offering doorbuster deals. some of the biggest retailers turned thanksgiving into gray thursday. they opened their doors last night. >> so holiday shoppers off and running. we have two live reports. cnn's george howell at a best buy store in atlanta. and stacey cohan at a mall in arlington, virginia. we want to go first to george howell. george, what's it look like where you are? >> well, alina, you know, good morning. so fewer people in the store right now than we saw earlier. we want to talk about some video

that we talk this morning at this particular best buy. we saw some 600 people file into this store all trying to get, you know, these deals. you look around, you see the tvs. there are televisions that are marked off. you've got laptop computers that are marked off. laptops and tablets definitely the big items that are in demand here. and store a store like best buy, you know, not only is it competing with online sales, but also competing with walmart, target. it's really important for this store, when you talk to the store managers here, to make sure that they get the best bang for their buck. you know, best buy had disappointing third quarter earnings. they're doing the best to make up for that. this is the day to do it. so you see them really advertising and pushing these deals. these door busters. again, we saw a laptop computer for like $179. there are definitely deals that have made customers come out and continue to come out. we'll see that through sunday, alina. >> all right, george howl, live from atlanta. we'll be talking to the ceos of

macy's and toys "r" us later on. >> stacey cohan has joined the pilgrimage at the pentagon city mall at arlington, virginia. she joins us now. stacey, some 200 stores in this mall, four levels? what have you been seeing? >> it's enormous. if you want to shop this is the place to do it. some of the anchor stores, larger retailers opened at midnight. the store in general opened at 5:00 this morning. i just got some numbers on the parking lot which usually can tell you some idea of how many people are here. it's about 15% full. that is as of 5:00 a.m. keep in mind, that's 5:00 a.m. and we also have a metro station within walking distance of the mall. so many people come here that way. people are steady filing in. and, i just got this, which is i've not seen black fridays before, this is a shopper bag that they are providing, a shopper relief bag to shoppers out here. they've got some really neat items, bottled water. they have hand sanitizer. there are smacks in here, candy and ships and a lot of coupons

for the stores. so that's on top of the black friday deals they're already offering. these are available as supplies last. made me feel good because i haven't been able to shop yet, so at least i have a bag. but most of the people here that i'm seeing around, they have bags in their hands. that's good news. you know the national retail federation is not predicting a superstar holiday sales season this year. they're thinking folks weren't going to spend a whole lot more money than they did last year. that's not the greatest news. but as long as people can keep it steadily coming i don't see too many empty handed folks here. this is a big mall. so we're busy. >> stacy i'm glad you have that relief bag with you, while shopping it is very important to hydrate. make sure you keep that up. can you tell by the traffic where people are walking where they seem to be headed, which stores seem to be doing well. >> i can tell by the bags. macy's is one of the stores that opened at midnight. keep in mind, there are almost

200 stores here. 170 stores, four levels, i'm just staring at the makeup store, which seems to be doing a good job. i spoke to a lady earlier. clothes seem to be what i'm hearing a lot of. clothing items are hot at least in this mall for the moment. there is a best buy across the street from me. folks who want high tech gadgets are probably going across the way. >> stacey cohan, thanks so much. >> we have a developing story we're watching very closely. new reports of violence in gaza here the israeli border this morning. according to hamas security sources, a group of farmers and protesters were participating in anti-israel demonstrations in the security buffer between the two regions known as no-man's-land. hamas claims israeli forces fired at the protest killing at least one palestinian man and wounding 19 others. there are also reports that six people were hurt in the same area yesterday. despite the violence, that cease-fire there is still holding. >> meantime, officials in israel

say they made an arrest in wednesday's bus bombing in tel aviv. they say the suspect is an arab israeli and a member of hamas. that group has said it had nothing to do with the attack, by the way. more than 20 people were hurt. police say the suspect used a cell phone to detonate the bomb. one wreck on a foggy int interstate set off a massive chain reaction bileup. it happened near beaumont, texas. about 100 vehicles crashed into each other. two people were killed, more than 100 injured. this stretch of interstate 10, by the way, was shut down for several hours yesterday. >> some egyptians are now calling their new president a dictator. mohamed morsi issued an order that says the courts may not overturn any of his decisions until the country drafts a new constitution. this could give him unchecked power for months. morsi has already ordered retrials of officials in last year's crackdown on protesters. that could mean another crackdown for hosni mubarak.

in about four hours' time michelle obama will welcome a christmas tree to the white house. you're having a look at last year's tree there. this year's is a 19 foot frasier fir. it will arrive at about 11:00 a.m. eastern from ashe county, north carolina. and it will be displayed in the blue room. it was a triple serving of nfl football on thanksgiving day. it started in detroit as always. the texans had a 34-31 victory overover-the-lions. a gaffe by lions' coach jim schwartz on this play right here. the texans running back appeared down. still ran for a touchdown. now the coach of the lions threw the challenge flag here. but, it was negated, a negated automatic review because he threw the flag and it may have tossed the team a game. if you throw the flag on a scoring play it negates the

automatic review. still he should have known better. and the lions went on to lose. meanwhile in dallas, the cowboys lost to the washington redskins 38-31. washington quarterback robert griffin the third, rg3 was the star throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. he looked great. also looking great yesterday the new england patriots. they just mauled the jets. the jets clearly the biggest turkey of the day. the patriots won 49-19. the game wasn't even that close. the patriots at one point, they scored three touchdowns in 52 seconds. that's almost mathematically impossible, folks, but it was wonderful to see. julian edelman. this was bill belichick's 200th win as a head coach. so congratulations to coach belichick. here's another one of the touchdowns. we could watch this for hours there were so many touchdowns. >> that's right. boston boy next to me. proud man this morning. stayed up late to watch the

game. eight minutes after the hour. cooler temperatures creeping in just as the holiday rolls into the weekend. rob marciano down in atlanta there. >> quite the gloat next year. >> yeah, i know. congratulations, john. good times on the patriot front there, and boy i tell you what, rg3, he has a cannon. not only can can i run but a howitzer for an arm. vancouver looking at rainfall. the seahawks are playing in miami. portland to medford, dry weather finally. that's a mess as you go north into the emerald city, travel problems. thin line of showers crossing the mississippi in through memphis over to cumberland, as well, in through nashville. the bigger story is what's behind this, and that is in the form of white. already eight inches plus in some spots of wisconsin overnight. winter storm warnings posted for this area. so it's going to be a slow go if you're doing some travel across

the u.p. 7 to 9 inches of snow fall expected there. winter storm warnings are up. and then winds for a good chunk of the western great lakes and upper midwest. could gust 40 to 50 miles an hour in some spots. and that's a tough go as far as travel goes. and it will be at the airport, chicago, detroit. we shouldn't see major delays like we saw on wednesday, when we were just stuck in the soupy fog. minneapolis some wind, and seattle and portland rain and low clouds as well. here's your front bumping into some warm air. another decent day and warm across much of the eastern seaboard. enjoy it because saturday and sunday, the gates of the cold canadian air open up. and we're talking about temperatures in the 20s today in minneapolis. 30s after being in the 60s yesterday in chicago. and all of this is pouring off toward the east. enjoy your 54 degrees in new york and boston, 55. not quite a ticker tape parade for that impressive win but nonetheless. >> i took off my coat yesterday here in new york. >> did you? >> yeah, nice weather. >> beautiful day here. >> it was gorgeous. >> keep it randy. >> thanks, rob.

nine minutes after the hour. ahead on "starting point" a deadly shooting this morning in gaza, as israeli forces kill a palestinian protester near the border. could this break the fragile truce there? >> and later the numbers keep growing and growing. powerball jackpot fever on again. it's on the rise. you won't believe how much it's up to now. with verizon.

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welcome back, everyone. minding your business this morning, u.s. stock futures are up but it's expected to be a light trading day after the holiday and it's a shortened trading day, as well. markets close at 1:00 p.m. eastern. >> leftover turkey. 13 minutes after the hour. the black friday frenzy in full swing. the national retail federation estimates 147 million shoppers are expected to hit stores today, and into the weekend. plus, we already know that online shopping is up. it's up nearly 20% so far. and, the number of customers using mobile devices to check

out deals online has reached a new record, 28.5%. that's according to the ibm benchmark survey which tracks the sort of thing every year. and it's not even cyber monday yet. >> every day has a name. many small retailers are hoping to get a piece of the action tomorrow with small business saturday. that is a big push from the small business administration encouraging customers to do their holiday shopping at local small shops tomorrow. 100 million americans shop at independently owned stores an this day last year. two days back from the brink of war, a deadly incident could threaten the fragile peace between israel and hamas. according to a hamas spokesman, israeli troops fired on palestinian protesters near the gaza border, killing one man and wounding 19 others. cnn's sara sidner following all the developing stories for us out of jerusalem. sara, good morning. what do we know? >> good morning, alina the hamas spokes people from the health

department have been saying that now 25 people have been injured. one of them killed. they say that it was farmers that were near the border there working on the border, or near the border with israel gaza fence. but when we talked to the israeli military they said something very different, that there were several groups of men who came up to the fence, trying to cross over into israel, protesting against israel. their soldiers shot in the air once, then shot at their legs. the israeli military not confirming a death or injuries but they are investigating at this point in time. this comes at a very fragile time, because this cease-fire that's been in place now for less than 48 hours, one of the things that was continued upon is that there was no firing or aggression from either side towards one another. and now we're seeing this incide incident. so far there hasn't been any comments from either government, neither hamas nor the israeli government about what they may or may not do but there has also not been an escalation which is good news. so far the cease-fire still holding. but a lot of concern is happening at a very difficult

time when everyone is on tenterhooks waiting to see if the cease-fire holds for a longer time. >> sara sidner live for us in jerusalem. >> let's talk more about this right now. we're going to bring in veteran middle east analyst robin wright at the woodrow wilson center and the u.s. institute of peace and author of the book "rock the casbah." she just returned from a trip to the middle east. let's start with the shooting. a very fragile truce right now, a fragile cease-fire, how threatening is an incident like this? >> in 64 years of conflict we've had dozens of cease-fires that are fallen apart. this one was always vulnerable. tempers are particularly explosive. but both sides have a vested interest right now in trying to generate movement for the palestinians, the opening of gaza, the end of the blockade, or the easing of the blockade, that's crippled the economy now for four years, and the israelis want security, obviously, for because of the hamas rockets hit

for the first time as far as tel aviv and jerusalem. so there's motive to move forward. the question is, is there the will. that's always been the issue. >> both sides have the motive to move forward, as you say. both sides also claiming victory in this small skirmish over the last several days. want to play a sound bite from the leader of hamas who spoke in gaza city. >> translator: the victory of gaza is a solid truth, not a phenomenon. the era of egypt and the region has changed, and america has now beginning to learn a new and listen to a new language. >> so is he right? is there a new era dawning in the middle east? and what does it mean for the u.s.? >> well, there's clearly a new era dawning in the middle east. and we're still trying to figure out what the new order is going to look like, as are many people on the ground. but both sides to a certain degree can claim a degree of

victory here. hamas survived and it can never win militarily. but it can -- it -- its survival means that it won to a certain extent. that's the model created in the war between israel and hezbollah in neighboring lebanon. but israel also made significant gains out of this. it proved that its iron dome missile defense system could protect vast areas and could shoot down the majority of hamas rockets. and one of the things it's going to get out of this from the united states is additional help in providing more missiles for iron dome so that it has even a greater range of protection. so the dynamics are changing a little bit on both sides. both sides can claim victory. but neither side can win militarily and both sides know that. >> you just brought up iron dome. you also brought up hezbollah, which brings up the question of iran here, another major actor, maybe the key actor in opposition to israel in the region. if you're iran and you just watched this for the last ten days, what do you take from it?

>> well, that israel does have means of protecting itself. it does have this new iron dome defense capability. i'm not convinced that iran actually, if it is developing a nuclear weapon, has the intention of using it against israel. but what it -- what the bigger question really is would hezbollah and neighboring -- in a country that neighbors israel use the rockets that iran provides in challenging israel if there is some confrontation over iran's controversial nuclear program. that's really the bigger question. and so iran's calculations may be changing a little bit. >> let's talk about politics, too, internal israeli politics. as we said, both sides hamas and israel declared victory. i want to read you the statement from benjamin netanyahu. he said quote we control the events, everything was very, very precise. i set goals and met them. we exacted a heavy price from them and damages their armaments. we erased years of stock piling

long and medium range missiles. i said we preferred to achieve these goals without entering and that is what we did. there is an election coming up in israel. netanyahu looked like he would achieve reelection there anyway. but internally israel, and abroad in his relationship with the white house what has prime minister benjamin netanyahu achieved? >> well, relations are a little bit warmer, at least for now, i think, between the white house and the israeli prime minister. president obama and netanyahu have not gotten along. that's been well documented. but the united states is now reaching out going to help israel in a new way. so that does strengthen bibi netanyahu's long-term position, as well. >> final question the other actor in the region we've been talking about all of them is egypt, of course. the u.s. has really fallen all over itself thanking egypt for its role in achieving a cease-fire here. but over the last 24 hours, something fascinating happened in egypt.

the leader there mohamed morsi game himself immunity from any kind of legal challenge until there is a new constitution in that country. some people say that essentially lines him up to be a dictator. >> well he certainly gives him very worrying powers. authoritarian powers. he has not used them. there are lots of reasons he did that. egypt is under the gun to try to produce a new constitution. some of the judges that president mubarak put in toward the end may not be as neutral and objective. let's wait and see how morsi uses these powers. up until now he's done pretty well from the western perspective in working with israel. he did not call for jihad, he did not break off relations with israel. he's been the key facilitator. the question is, is he going to allow egypt to become a real democracy and there's a lot of skepticism about that. he has a lot to prove to the outside world and his own people. >> all right, robin wright, always great to talk to you. >> thank you. >> up ahead on "starting point,"

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what are you waiting for? this is big news.

welcome back to "starting point" everyone. president obama is in washington today with no planned events after celebrating thanksgiving with his family and staffers at the white house yesterday. the president tweeted this photo of the obama family. everyone looking a whole lot younger. there was a message saying from this family to yours, happy thanksgiving. he then called ten service members in afghanistan and thanked them for their sacrifice. the president also met with the oregon state university basketball team, the head coach is first lady michelle obama's

brother greg robinson. a holiday gift from the city of new york, and volunteers to the victims of superstorm sandy. many were given free turkey dinners, or provided a bus to restaurants that served up free meals. volunteer groups also handed out supplies and warm clothes, some places, get this, had so many volunteers show up that they actually had to be turned away. the troops getting a thanksgiving feast away from home. but they had to eat very quickly. soldiers in south carolina were provided a holiday meal with all the fixings, including 2,200 pounds of turkey. i had to make sure i was reading that right. the soldiers are on the clock, so they only get ten minutes to eat all that turkey. >> i could do it in ten minutes. i'm a fast eater. and the three man crew aboard the international space station celebrated with a feast, including smoked turkey, thermostabilized yams, and russian mashed potatoes. that's a nod to the two russian

cosmonauts on the station. they also had corn and cranberry apple dessert. astronauts have been giving thanks at zero gravity since 2000. nothing says thanksgiving like thermostabilized yams. or deep fried turkey. >> we did deep fried turkey. >> how did that work out for you? >> it was the best turkey i ever had. we did not burn the house down. no injuries as far as i know. so it's good. it was a good turkey. >> you sure about that? >> i think so. ahead on "starting point," black friday is really black thursday. black thursday is the new black friday. so did the holiday gamble pay off? we'll speak with the ceo of toys "r" us. [ gordon ] for some this line is a convenience. how you doing today? i'm good thanks. how are you? i'm good. [ gordon ] but for others, it's all they can afford. every day nearly nine million older americans don't have enough to eat. anything else? no, not today. join me, aarp, and aarp foundation

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welcome back to "starting point" everyone. checking your top stories now. it is black friday in america. shoppers going the extra mile for door buster dears on some

big ticket items. retailers opened their doors at midnight. even earlier in some cases. shoppers for the most part behaving themselves. one exception at a kmart in sacramento, where a man reportedly threatened to stab people. that's not very nice, while waiting on line to get into the store. >> if you're headed to walmart today, you might be greeted by demonstrators with picket signs. walmart workers across the country plan to protest the wages, benefits and other issues. they say today is the perfect day to get their message across. i'll say. walmart says the protesters make up just a fraction of its workforce. florida authorities are blaming a giant rogue wave for a boating accident. one woman died after the wave destroyed the boat and tossed the 23 people on board into the water. they were headed back from a day of diving when the wave hit. new information coming out today about the david petraeus investigation. the fbi is investigating whether he told his military staff to share documents and other sensitive information with his biographer, paula broadwell. that's according to a report

from "the washington post." fbi agents say they found low level classified information on broad well's computer. >> so you feeling lucky this holiday season? the powerball jackpot keeps climbing and climbing. it's now an eye-popping $325 million. the next drawing is tomorrow night at 10:59 eastern. we want to know what you would spend all that money on. so, send us a tweet on the twitters, our address is @startingpointcnn. look at the bottom of the screen. >> you could spend some of that $325 shopping at toys "r" us. waking up super early on black friday just doesn't cut it anymore. this year many stores decided to open last night. thanksgiving day. probably going to pay off. an estimated 41 million people went shopping on thanksgiving itself. that's almost double the number that are expected to shop today. but still a huge number of people shopping right after

their turkey dinners. royce r us opened its doors at 8:00 p.m. last night across the country. joining us now on the phone is the ceo of toys "r" us, jerry storch. he's outside the big toys "r" us store in times square. good morning. so you moved your holiday door busters up to 8:00 p.m. yesterday. that's the earliest ever for your store. any indication that that's helping your bottom line? >> our customers loved it. last year we started at 9:00 p.m. there were long lines outside every one of our stores. they asked us to open a little earlier so this year we opened at 8:00 p.m. we're a family store. a lot of parents brought their kids at 8:00 p.m. they even sat and ate ice cream. it was a wonderful environment. there were tons of deals and they're still going now. there's still tons of time to get out and shop today. >> what are some of your best deals? remind us. >> well, for example, we have

50% off some of our monster dolls, among the hottest dolls you can find. tons of other offers at 50% and 60% off. we have a huge deal on skylanders giants the post popular kids video game and we have sky landers giants at $49.99 it's regularly $74.99. we have the hottest toys in stock right now. it's a great time to shop. guarantee you'll get the hot toys before christmas. >> you know, i want to talk a little bit about some of the problems -- it seems every year we see video of stampedes, and in some cases violence or near-violence as we heard about in sacramento. any indication about whether you've had any problems at any of the toys "r" us stores across the country? >> we've had zero reports. no reports of any problem at toys "r" us stores. we pride ourselves on our line management. we have very strict single file lines entering the store.

we hand out tickets for the hottest products to make sure no one feels there's a need to rush when they get in the store to get that hot door buster and then keep in mind again, we're a family store. we have lots of parents, even with their kids, coming shopping at toys "r" us, so it's a real wholesome environment. >> that ticket policy seems to work really well in other stores, as well. so good for you for doing it. meanwhile, as you well know, more people than ever are shopping online this holiday season. and spending more online. so tell me this, you know, other than the thrill of the chase, of being in the store, is there any real benefit to the consumer to go in, versus shop online? >> well, first of all, we love our online shoppers. we do over a billion dollars in online sales at toys "r" us. we have many of the hottest toys available online. if you want to shop online top toysrus.com. we love you. what we're seeing is an

evolution in online shopping. where sometimes for example you can buy it online, but have it waiting for you and go to the store to pick it up so you don't have to hunt and peck once you get to the store. that model is what's winning. but toys also are a little different than some other products because there are only so many of each toy made and we've all gone through that struggle trying to find the hot toy. one of the best ways to make sure you have your hands on the hot toy is to go to the store and get it. >> i like that omni whatever -- >> omni channel. >> that's a great idea. >> it's the future. >> i never heard of that. >> you've got a store in your neighborhood. you can get the product there. you can just do the old-fashioned way, going to the store, but you can also order online and pick it up at the store. we love you whether you use your cell phone, computer or come to the store. >> you've made it clear and we love you for it that you love all your customers, online or in store. having said that look into your

crystal ball a little bit. what's your reduction is today and yesterday an indication of a strong holiday season for you? >> there's no way of knowing about that. there were long lines outside of all of our stores. the one here at times square went down broadway, over on 45th street down to sixth avenue. it was a monstrous line. very, very long. people were having a lot of fun. they were happy, they were having a good time. i think people maybe do feel a little more relaxed about the time and think it's okay. what we saw in the depth of the 2008, 2009 recession was the last thing parents cut back on was a christmas present for their child. we feel we're going to do well in december no matter what. >> you can sort of hear that excitement in your voice so that's one reason alone to get out there in the stores and do it in person versus shop online. jerry storch, chairman and ceo of toys "r" us. have a happy holiday season. >> absolutely. today's the best day to shop. >> it was shocking that he loves

both his instore and his online customers. >> it is shocking. >> i'm sure he would like more of them, too. it is 37 minutes after the hour. the holidays, thanksgiving at least is over, but the weekend is just getting started. >> oh. >> meteorologist rob marciano i hope you have your holiday shopping schedule all set. >> absolutely. one thing that you guys pointed out, you talk about the hot toy and how you have to -- you're driven crazy by your child, luckily my little baby is not quite old enough to verbalize it, i give her the wooden spoon. >> the best toy ever. >> loves it. >> girls don't have to verbalize in order for you to know as a father what she wants. >> that's right. it's all about the evil eye and body language. i learned that much. here we go, if you're traveling or just getting out to the mall, east coast looks good again today, maybe some wind and showers across maybe the coastline. but it's going to be much, much warmer than average. as it has been the past couple days. enjoy that because this blue line, which indicates the line of cold air that's going to start to pour down across

canada, and into the great lakes, already doing that. that's going to change things up quite a bit. also some showers and some snow across parts of seattle today. if you're traveling via air through chicago, detroit, minute, wind issues there with that system. seattle and portland we get back into the rain and low clouds especially at seatac. seven to nine inches of snow across u.p. today. already seen in some spots of wisconsin, eight inches of snow. so winter storm warning is posted there. elsewhere not too bad. winds are going to be an issue across the western great lakes, 40 to 45 mile per hour wind gusts. higher profile vehicles will have a tough time on the interstate. showers and thunderstorms not a huge issue. snow and wind behind it and the cold air behind it is going to be the big issue. temperatures yesterday in chicago were in the 60s. today, they'll be in the 30s. so if you are going down the magnificent mile maybe a scarf, maybe a hat, even some gloves. >> delays to tampa, florida, that's good news. >> you're looking good in tampa, 72.

>> ahead on "starting point" much-needed holiday cheer is shared with victims of superstorm sandy. how are staten island residents coping? we will speak with congressman michael grimm. you're watching "starting point." look in the mirror, they see more than themselves. so we celebrate our year-end with the "share the love" event. get a great deal on a new subaru and 250 dollars goes to your choice of five charities. by the end of this, our fifth year, our total can reach almost 25 million dollars. it's a nice reflection on us all. now through january 2nd. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move

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the cleanup continues in new york and new jersey more than three weeks after hurricane sandy devastated neighborhoods. some families are facing a long and difficult path to recovery right now. but many volunteers brought holiday cheer to victims yesterday, delivering a thanksgiving feast. meantime, new york city has announced plans to demolish 200 homes that sustained the worst damage. including some on staten island where elected officials are

focusing now on rebuilding. we're joined this morning here by congressman michael grimm, he represents the area that includes staten island. great to have you with us. >> thank you. nice to be here. >> a lot of volunteers did turn out to help in a lot of these neighborhoods that have just been devastated by the storm. how much of a difference, what kind of a thanksgiving was this compared to others for you personally and for your constituents? >> well, personally, really honed in on what thanksgiving is all about. to be grateful and be thankful for what you have. and when you see people have lost everything in their entire lives, we're talking some older people have amassed things over the years and just their memories, their pictures, everything they've ever owned is gone. it really does make you feel grateful and thankful for what you have. yesterday was very special. and extremely uplifting for those that were through the very first stage where a lot of people in shock and don't even realize the magnitude and gravity of just how devastating this is, but now a little bit of

the depression starts to set in. the reality that they have to rebuild, and that they're still in shelters for some, and that's a very, very difficult thing to handle. and yesterday uplifted. especially the children. they were everything from santa clauses to those doing tricks, and making balloons. and also a lot of people, all the elected officials through the city gave out tickets to the braid. so a lot of the families that have been displaced were able to take their children to the parade. >> a nice day and a welcome distraction. i saw you almost wince, i think, when i read the news a second ago that 200 homes were going to be demolished there. how much of a blow is that? >> it's tremendous. you have to understand it's more than physically knocking down the home. again, to some of these people it's their first home. they worked their entire life to build it. so see that physically destroyed, and it really sends the message how much they have to rebuild, which is why i'll tell you although the very first stage is over, the second stage and there's several stages after that, i think the second stage is the hardest.

this is where we're really going to need volunteers and support the most. this storm is not over. not even close. >> i was going to ask you about that. it was some three weeks ago now. what are the biggest concerns that you have? what is this second stage? >> first of all, all the displaced families, we have to find them housing. there's a lot of families still in shelters that are in desperate need of 's. and it's not so easy. you know, a lot of them don't have credit. they don't have access to the things to get first and last month security deposits. all of those little things are adding up and making it very difficult. what i'm worried about is people start to get around the country and donations start to slow down and we can't let that happen. these families desperately still need our support. >> a lot of people now are weighing whether to rebuild on the shoreline. what do you think should go into their consideration? >> well, i think the city of new york has to really look at the zoning, and there are certain areas that i just think are dangerous. 23 you're not going to build to almost a hurricane standard, which means an elevated home, then i would really hesitate to

rebuild on the shore, the whole eastern seaboard of staten island really got crushed. and there are areas where you have to understand over the last 60 or 70 years the natural barriers, the beach and so on has been eroding so now it is much more dangerous because the water can come right up to the main streets and that is a huge issue that i think we've already started discussions on about where we can build safely and what type of zoning requirements there's going to be. >> you think the state should step in and say you can't rebuild here? >> i think the city has to play a role in staying what standards need to be built. we people in harm's way. >> congressman grimm, thank you so much. >> appreciate it, thank you. >> just ahead on "starting point" our men and women in the military sacrifice so much. now you can give back and help them spend time with their family this holiday season. we're going to tell you how you can do that. you're watching "starting point." with verizon.

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top u.s. senator is moving away from an anti-tax pledge from grover norquist. facing looming tax hikes at the end of the year if they don't act, senator chambliss said, quote, i care more about my country than i do a 20-year-old pledge. if we do it his way then we'll continue in debt and i just have a disagreement with him about that. interesting. want to give back this holiday season? more than 30,000 airline tickets have been given to service members and their families as part of what's called the hero miles program. launched by the fisher house

foundation, it allows people to donate their frequent flyer miles to wounded, injured and sick military service members and their families. now there's a new opportunity to do the same with hotel points. joining us now from baltimore to tell us more about the hotels for heroes program are dave coker and senator ben cardin of maryland who helped to pass legislation for this. let me talk to you first, mr. co coker. first of all, great to see you again this year. tell me a little bit about this new program with the hotel points. how does it work? >> well, at the heart of what fisher house does, we have a t network of 58 houses all over the world. and we have been able to help 18,000 families a year. as we help those families we become aware of additional needs. that's how the hero miles program was started. we learned that there was

difficulty in getting from point a to point b. we started the hero miles program. we also have provided hundreds of thousands of lodging for families when the houses are full. and then sometimes the acuity of the patient requires them to go to specialty houses. we want families to be able to be there, support their loved one in a safe, comfortable environment. >> senator, i want to get to you in a moment. so many people, tis the season to give back, right? so many people are out there, watching and wondering. it seem soes easy. donate hotel points, frequent flyer miles. in practice it takes a little bit of effort. so how do you do it? >> first of all we're talking about wounded warriors who are -- come back to the united stat states. they need to take care of their medical needs, but their family being close by really helps the healing process. many times it's a real sacrifice for the family members to be

able to afford to travel and be housed where the wounded warrior is being treated. fisher house provides housing. sometimes we need to use hotels because we don't have the actual house available. what we're doing with the hotels for heroes, individuals can contribute their hotel miles to help our soldiers and their families get together. easiest way is to go to fisherhouse.org, know which hotels are participating and donate your miles and help our service people and help their families. >> marriott, wyndham, la quinta, starwood, choice are among the hotel chains already taking part in this program. good for them. meanwhile, senator, one more question to you. i know this was created out of bipartisan legislation and you were a big part in getting that through. how did you get involved? what was it about -- it's a great program.

when did you first hear about it? how did you get involved and how long did it take for this to get through congress? >> first off, i want to give credit to congressman ruppersberger, who started first the frequent flyer miles for our soldiers and now we expanded it to our hotel miles. my wife, myrna, involved in helping military families as to what more we could do. hotel for heroes came out of those meetings, that this is another way that we can fill a gap where we can, as individuals, help our service families. >> senator ben cardin and dave coker, president of the fisher house foundation, wish you the best of luck. i hope lots and lots of people donate hotel points and frequent flyer miles as a result of seeing this on cnn. happy holidays. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. in the spirit of awesome thanks giving, take a lock at this thanksgiving surprise for one las vegas military family.

riley morris was in the middle of a dance class when her dad, sergeant major morris walked into the room. he wasn't supposed to be home yet from his 14-month tour in afghanistan. his kids were not expecting him for thanksgiving. love pictures like this. >> that's great. >> the family says they're thankful to be together and they are thankful they are all safe. >> ahead on starting point if you're just now getting ready to shop, guess what, you're late. black friday has been under way for hours. we will see how the retail feeding frenzy is going. later, a president dealing with a hostile congress. sound familiar? we'll talk with james spader about his role in the new lincoln movie and how history has a way of repeating itself. medicarerx saver plus plan hp from unitedhealthcare. with this plan, you can get copays as low as a dollar through a preferred network pharmacy like walgreens -- where you'll find 8,000 convenient locations.

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good morning, everyone.

i'm john berman. >> i'm alina cho. soledad has the week off. back in black. while you were sleeping, shoppers came out in force. retailers couldn't be happier. >> except at walmart, where a black friday strike threatens to hit the huge company right where it hurts. plus deadly gunfire at the gau gaza border. will it upset the uneasy truce in the middle east? >> it is friday, november 23rd. black friday. and "starting point" begins right now. good morning, everybody. it's 8:00 in the east. the day after thanksgiving. our "starting point" deck the malls with tons of shoppers. stores across the country have been open for hours now. in keeping with the black friday tradition. some of the biggest retails got a jump on that by opening on thanksgiving. >> it appears there are plenty of bargains to be had.

george howell is checking that out for us at a best buy store outside atlanta, georgia. what are you seeing? >> reporter: john, good morning. look, you look around this store there are a lot of deals to be had. look at this. you save, what, $40? $40 here. $30 here. when you look around the store, you know, the biggest deals were the laptops. lot of laptops are gone now. the televisions, flat skroen tvs. marked down some $200 in many cases. really important for stores to do this, especially a store like best buy. this is a store brand that had a disappointing third quarter earnings. they're doing everything they can to make sure they get the best bang for their buck on this black friday. i also want to bring in a couple of shoppers. you do this every year, yeah? >> yes. we come on black friday every year getting stocky stuffers, electronics for our house. it's a tradition. >> kevin, what are you buying today? >> toys for me.

getting ourselves a nice new tv for one of the rooms in our house. it's good to have toys on black interested. >> reporter: look over here at this. this is kind of kol. maybe we can interview you here while i talk to you. tell me this. do you feel more comfortable spending money this year than last year? >> we do. it's been a good year for us. the economy is doing well. worry happy to be back out here supporting it. >> your thoughts? >> absolutely. i completely agree. kevin has a new job. >> reporter: right. >> i'm teaching fourth grade. i feel like we're at a point where we want to be generous with our christmas shopping. >> reporter: thanks for taking time with me. >> thank you. >> reporter: we spoke to a person earlier, who said she feels more comfortable shopping this year. this morning, when the store opened at midnight, you saw those people searching for the deals. i spoke to a few people who work at the store. they say, look, after 9:00 am eastern here in this store, that's when they expect to see those shoppers who plan to buy the bigger purchases. we're seeing more and more

people come in. as the day progresses, best buy is counting on getting as many people in the store as possible, john. >> george, that family, they're having tvs, stocking stuffers. i want to do the holidays at their house. >> you have a -- >> yeah, and maybe they'll get us something. >> thanks, george. good to see you. >> if you're just now planning out your black friday strategy, guess what, you are way, way behind. the doors at macy's stores across the country opened at midnight. bargain hunters race to be the first to snag the very best deals. some retailers opened earlier. 8:00 or 9:00 pm last night despite the holiday. want to bring in macy's ceo terry lundgren in harold square. good morning. great to so you. happy holidays. >> good morning, alina. happy thanksgiving. >> yeah. congratulations on a beautiful, beautiful parade yesterday.

spectacular and perfect weather. the doors opened at macy's at midnight. how is it going so far? >> so far it's going great. i have a personal commitment that i've had for all of my career, to be here at the opening of our stores on black friday. and so, of course, i was here 11:30 last night and it was a record crowd at herald square. it was great to stand at the door and watch this stream of humanity coming through our doors. i was there for 18 minutes. it didn't stop. it just kept coming and coming and coming. to me, this is a great day. what else can i say? >> you get into the spirit, don't you? stream of humanity, such a regal way of putting it, by the way, terry. i want to bring up some numbers here. as you know, many retailers moved up their sale hours to thanksgiving, 8:00, 9:00 pm in some cases. you did not decide to do that.

if you look at the numbers, yesterday alone on thanksgiving day -- really incredible. 41 million people across the country went out to shop. black friday, 80.5 million are expected. but you can't ignore that 41 million. would you ever consider moving the time up, terry, maybe next year? it's not in the cards for me. i'm sure i'll get pressured. i never want to say never. at this point, i think we've got the right strategy. we do something that other retailers don't do, macy's thanksgiving day parade. my employees are very busy on thanksgiving. most of what you see out there on the streets is volunteers from macy's, including myself. i'm out there. frankly, i want a little bit of a break before i leave the parade and go right to work. i would like to have a thanksgiving dinner as my employees would like to have their thanksgiving dinner before they show up for work that night. >> digest their turkey, too. meanwhile other than, say, ju

justin bieber fragrances, what are some of your best deals at macy's this holiday season? >> that was a big, big hit. it's great to see all these young women charging through the doors and saying where is the justin bieber fragrance? but also it was boots. $19.99 rampage boots are flying off the shelves. great value. cashmere sweaters that sell for over $100 are under $50 today. lost of interesting electronics throughout the home furnish issings area. we went after 250 items that are blockbusters, great values and bought them in depth throughout the store. you'll find values throughout the entire store at macy's. >> i'm sure you can. i might try to head down there myself some time in the next week. meanwhile, terry -- >> i'm against your purchasing last year. i have to offset it.

>> that's true. that's true. okay. so let's talk a little bit about some of the problems we've seen over the years. stampedes. you've seen the videos. stampedes and near violence at a store in sacramento we've been talking about. any problems at any of your macy's stores across the country? >> we haven't had any problems. i don't know what that means exactly in terms of the crowd that we attract. i can tell you that we work very hard at this. we're prepared for this. this store gets more traffic than most any store in america. if there's going to be a problem, fld probably be in this store and there was zero problems. people were friendly. they were positive. they were up. it was a huge line of traffic. it was a very controlled environment. >> that's great to hear. care to offer a prediction on holiday sales? i guess you opened at midnight.

is today going well so far? do you think it will be a strong holiday season for macy's? >> i do. fantastic growth and sales and earnings and i suspect that will continue in the fourth quarter. i've already said we'll be up over 4% in the fourth quarter. we were up over 5% last year and 4% of the year before. customers are choosing us to give a gift. so we suspect that that pattern will continue. and we feel very good about it. now november is going to be more challenging for stores like ourselves. we had 200 stores closed the first few days of the period due to hurricane sandy, of course. but i think today will be big. and then, of course, december has an unusual calendar. this is the unusual calendar where we have more days between thanksgiving and christmas than in any other calendar period of any year. and that's good overall but it means it will be slow at the

beginning and last minute will be very, very powerful. the week before christmas will be a big rush. and we suspect you won't know how you're doing until you get to that week before christmas. >> that's right because people like me wait till that week to shop. terry lundgren, wish you the best this holiday season and the best to your family. thank you so much for joining us. great to see you. >> thanks, alina. hard-working man today, no doubt. >> yes, he is. nine minutes after the hour. new reports of violence in gaza near the israeli border this morning. according to hamas security fors group of farmers were protesting in anti-israel demonstration in what they call no man's land. fired at the protest killing at least one palestinian man and wounding 19 others. there were also reports six people were hurt in the same area yesterday. now despite the violence, the soes fire there is still

holding. meanwhile protests have started to erupt after president mohamed morsi gave himself new powers. protesters stormed the headquarters of morsi's political party in alexandria and set it on fire. he issued an order saying the courts may not overturn any of his decisions until the country drafts a new constitution. some are now calling him a dictator and united nations say it raises human rights concerns. first lady michelle obama will welcome the white house christmas tree. that's a look at last year's christmas tree. this year's will be a 19-foot christmas fir. it will arrive this morning from north carolina and ultimately will be displayed in the blue room. >> other thanksgiving tradition, triple serving of nfl football on thursday. it all started in detroit with te texans winning 34-31 in overtime. it was marred by controversy, a

gaffe by lions coach jim schwartz who mistakenly threw the challenge flag on this touchdown. replay showed he was clearly down. if you challenge a scoring play, you're actually penalized. more importantly, you negate an automatic replay review. it's like a double whammy. i would expect that rule to be changed soon. it could have really caused -- probably did cost the lions the game. still the coach should have known better. meantime in dallas cowboys lost to the washington redskins 38-31. rg3, robert griffin iii was the star, throwing for over 300 yards in four touchdowns, showing off his canon arm right there. as for the biggest turkey of the day, that would be the new york jets. just got a beating at the hands of the patriots. the game wasn't even that close. >> just love reading this story, don't you? >> one of the best kids i've ever seen in my life. three touchdowns in 52 seconds.

on special teams right there. jowlian edelman. it's almost mathematical ly impossible to score three touchdowns in 52 seconds. coach bill belichick's 200th win as head coach. >> years ago when the boston red sox won the world series and i believe you were working for another network and i with his working here and covered that story and i don't think i've ever seen you happier. >> i got married and had kids but other than that, i don't think i have ever been happier. >> proud moment for john berman. 12 minutes past the hour. rob marciano, i took off my coat yesterday. it was beautiful here in new york but chillier temperatures are on the way, i hear. >> that's true. if you don't have a jacket, john, you may want to at least wear the flap jacket. i don't know how you survive past columbus circle sometimes with the joy that you bring when your team gets defeated by a new england team. >> you're talking to a new yorker. >> 17 years and counting, rob. hanging in there.

>> a tribute to just how popular you are. good morning, guys. a cold front sliding across the eastern half of the country. eastern third of the country. macy's boss made a good point. an early thanksgiving. maybe that's the reason why it's been so darn warm on the eastern third of the country yesterday for your turkey. that's about to change. we've got cold air that's just pouring down from canada. huge change is on the way. traveling airwise through chicago, detroit, minneapolis. seattle and portland, you'll have some issues. not nearly as bad as it was. 7 to 9" for u.p. of michigan. the winds will gust 30, 35 miles an hour, slowing down some travel also. here is your line where the cold front is. not too bigative deal as far as the precip goes. temperatures were in the 60s in chicago, will be in the 0s today. windchills lower than that. one more nice day in new york. bottom drops out tomorrow. >> all right, rob. >> back to you. >> thanks so much.

have a great weekend. ahead on starting point, a deadly shooting in gaza as israeli forces kill a palestinian protester near the border. could this break the fragile truce there? later, have you got your lottery ticket yet? the numbers keep growing and growing. power ball jackpot fever on the rise again. we'll tell you how much. you're watching "starting poi " point." if you are one of the millions of men

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welcome back to "starting point" everyone. while there officially is a cease fire between israel and hamas, we are getting word of violence along the border. anti-israel demonstration in the security buffer between the two regions, an area they call no man's land there. hamas claims israeli forces fired at the protests, killing at least one palestinian man and wounding 19 others. the international community is beginning to debate what it

means for this decades old conflict. >> translator: the victory of gaza is a solid truth not a phenomena. the era of egypt and the region has changed and america has now beginning to learn a new and listen to a new language. >> no doubt the political landscape of the middle east is beginning long-term changes but lasting result to this conflict is still anyone's guess. joining us from the west bank city of ramallah, former local adviser with the palestinian liberation organization. deanna, are you hearing me okay? >> no. >> you're not hearing me?

we're having some audio problems here, guys. i guess we'll go to break and come back and see if we can get de deanna. >> ahead on "starting point" how one young man went from addiction to drugs to helping others find a healthy high. with verizon. hurry in this friday for great deals. like the droid razr by motorola in cranberry, free. or a white 7-inch samsung galaxy tab 2, just $99.99. this friday, get the best deals on the best devices on the best network. exclusively at verizon.

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welcome back, everyone. we've been reporting all morning there's been a shooting on the border between israel and gaza. israeli troops reportedly firing into a protest of some palestinians who were protesting right near the area known as no man's land. hamas security forces say that one palestinian has been killed and several others injured.

this, of course, just after they have declared a cease fire in the tensions there. how will this affect the cease fire? we're joined now by deana butu, political analyst for the institute of the middle east, a former plo legal adviser. good morning, deanna. thanks for being with us. sorry about the audio problems before. let me ask you first off about this slight skirmish along the border, this shooting. do you think that will affect the cease fire? >> i think it just might. you know, we're now coming into 165 palestinians who have been killed over the course of nine day days. and these people, the young man who was killed today was actually a farmer who was trying to go farm his fields. there is absolutely no evidence that this was a demonstration. there's no reason why the israeli army should have gone out to shoot him. so this puts something that is very fragile and makes it even more fragile. >> this comes just two days

after the bus bombing in tel aviv, something now that there have been arrests for. that also test this is fragile cease fire. no? >> well, the incident regarding the bus became before the cease fire took place. we have to put this in its proper perspective. unless there is an end of isr l israel's military occupation over the palestinians in the west bank and jerusalem, there's going to continue to be violence. there has never been a situation where people subjugated by oppression sit back and let it take hold. >> let's talk about the political dynamics right now within the palestinian community. a lot of people right now are talking about what role the palestinian authority should be

playing versus what role hamas should be playing and whatever dialogue they may have. in part, quote, one thing is clear. whatever else it turns out to be, the new order does look kind to the nonislamist side of the palestinian national movement. with attention focused on gaza and islamists doing the fighting and the negotiating, president a abbas and fatah, as well as the prospects for a two-state solution, are on the losing end. then again, what else is new? has islamists effectively taken over the palestinian movement? >> no. but what i think is happening now is that this is tevently showing that the time has come for there to be reconciliation twoen all the palestinian factions. the fact that there hasn't been reconciliation has made it that much easier for israel to continue out its strategy of taking more palestinian land and getting rid of as many palestinians as possible.

there has to be a new palestinian strategy that brings together the factions of hamas, faction factions of fatah and comes together with the strategy. it will never work. this is why palestinians now have to come up with something new, something different that demands sanctions on israel, accountability for israel's actions and puts israel in its proper light, that of an occupier. this is the only way i think we'll be able to move forward. if we continue to try to mask this, we are going to see changes in the region as we have already seen changes. that's why this issue has become so central. >> diana buttu, thank you for hanging in there with us this morning. appreciate it. trous appeuce appears to ho between israel and hamas despite that shooting. we'll go to the israeli side to get their side of the argument. i was saving big on car insurance. with snapshot, i knew what i could save

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welcome back to "starting point." it's 30 minutes past the hour. black friday. bargain hunters have been at it for hours. in some cases since last night. cutting short their thanksgiving meals for a shot at those door buster doles. crowds have been pretty orderly, for the most part. wasn't the case at a kmart in sacramento shall where a man threatened to stab fellow shoppers woil waiting on line. >> yikes. if you're headed to walmart today, you might be greeted by demonstrators with picket signs, planning to protest over wages, benefits and other issues. they say today is the perfect day to get their message across.

protesters make up just a fraction of its workforce, walmart says. florida authorities blame a giant rogue wave for a boat accident near pompano beach. one woman died after that wave destroyed the boat and tossed 23 other people on board into the water. they were headed back from a day of diving when the wave hit. >> new information about the david petraeus investigation. the fbi is investigating whether he told his military staff to share documents and other sensitive information with his biographer, paula broadwell, according toy a post from "the washington post." they found low-level classified information on broadwell's computer. after president mohamed morsi gave himself new powers, protesters stormed the headquarters of morsi's political party in alexandria, and scuffled with some of his supporters in another part of the city. morsi issued an order saying that the courts may not overturn any of had his decisions until the country drafts a new

constitution and some ejichingss are calling him a dictator now. it was a beautiful thanksgiving. if you're camping out, fold up your tent before the colder temperatures roll n here is meteorologist rob marciano. >> you always have great camping advice the friday after thanksgiving. excellent -- >> camping out outside a store. >> exactly. exactly. there you go. cold air is on the way. rain is back in seattle after a relatively dry thanksgiving day. couple of days before thanksgiving with heavier rain and mud slides. portland dry for now. little bit of rainfall across the ozarks and lower mid mississippi river valley associated with a cold front. little bit of white on the the radar. not showed that much of late. they've seen it pile up in parts of wisconsin. there are winds with this as well. traveling through the airports like chicago, detroit, had

issues with fog on wednesday. not that bad today but wind will slow things down, minneapolis as well. rain in seattle and oeflly will siveng down to portland a little bit also. winds will be 40, 45-mile-an-hour, gusts across western great lakes and upper midwest. that will be a little bit dicey if you have a high-profile vehicle. winter storm warning posted for the u.p. of michigan where some spots have already seen 8" of snow. east of this blue line it's warm. temperatures above average again today. behind this cool line it's a bit cooler. temperatures are drastically dropping, temps in the 30s today in chicago after being in the 60s yesterday. today looks to be okay with high temperature in the 50s. >> may want to take that coat this weekend even in atlanta, rob. you'll be shopping all weekend. >> absolutely. i've got my shopping shoes on right now. all right. thanks, rob. it's every shopper's dream. save hundreds -- yes, hundreds of dollars on those big ticket

items. you've had your eye on all year. what lengths would you go to just get that deal? wfxg's terry honorstein takes a look at the die hards of black friday. brian smith invites us into the tent he is calling home this week. >> this is my side. used to be inflated. but i have slept here the past three days. >> don't let the modest look of the place fool you. by no means is he roughing it. he is not spending time becoming one with nature. >> couple of air mattresses. we have our tv. and some playstations. and it's all powered by a generator. >> reporter: smith is just one among a sea of shoppers, calling the best buy parking lot home. that is, until what many would say is the most intense shopping day of the year. black friday. >> i'm interested in a samsung tv. it's $600 -- actually it's $700 off. >> big savings the reason these campers have set up camp.

all ready to snag the doorbuster deal. >> i'm here for two tvs, blu-ray player, external hard drive, extra ram for my computer. >> makeshift tent community it's not so much about where you stand in line but where you cope why your chair. >> keeping in touch with the people around us so they know what position we are and they know where we are. >> spending the thanksgiving holiday together, becoming a ritual for the return customers. >> after we eat here on the tables that you so, we're going to go and watch thanksgiving day football. >> during the night we socialize, go out to a couple of restaurants have some dinner. >> reporter: some may call it odd. for these men and women, this is what it's all about. >> is it worth it? >> reporter: yes. >> yes. >> john berman taking notes during that piece. that's exactly what you're going to do. >> get to my tent, camping out in those stores. 35 minutes after the hour right

now. deadly incident at the gaza border amid an already fragile cease fire. live to injujerusalem, coming u. [ male announcer ] introducing zzzquil sleep-aid.

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welcome back to "starting point," everyone. the cease fire between israel and hamas is 30 years old and holding just barely. according to hamas sources, israeli troops fired on a group of farmers and palestinian protesters overnight near the gaza border, killing one man and wounding 19 others. sara sidner is live in jerusalem this morning. what else do we know about this, sara? >> reporter: john, you heard from the health officials there

in gaza, saying that there were several people who were injured. we're talking about 25 people injured now. one killed on the gaza/israel border very near to east konounis. the israeli military is giving a different story, saying several groups of men were trying to come over to the israeli side of the border through the fence. they were fired -- the military used a gun, fired in the air toward them and then when they did not comply started firing toward their legs. the military not yet confirming whether there is a death or injuries. very two different stories this morning from gaza and from israel. it comes athe a very difficult time, when a cease fire has been in place but not for 48 hours yet. it was a frangile cease fire to begin with. the only thing we're noticing now, we're not hearing anything from either government, hamas or israeli government. and woef not seen an escalation so far.

no ror rockckets have come over air strikes in retailiation to those rockets. so far a cease fire is holding. there's a lot of nerves whether this cease fire will hold for quite some time. john? >> you say these border incidents have happened over time. >> reporter: sure. they happen quite often, to be honest with you. there were several leading up to conflict that bubbled over. israel has said many times there are tunnels there where they found weapons, explosives. and then those in gaza saying there have been plenty of times where they have been fired upon or air strikes, trying to get rid of those explosives with people getting hurt. it happens to come at a time when things are supposed to be no aggression from either side. that's what was agreed upon. it's very early days to see whether or not this cease fire will last. civilians on either side of the border are sick and tired of

this constant battle. they just want to find a permanent solution and to see something happen so soon after this cease fire was agreed upon is a bit disappointing, john. >> sara sidner in jerusalem. thank you, sara. top ten cnn heroes of 2012 as you vote for the one who inspires you the most. you can cast that vote at cnnheroes.com. this week's honoree used sports to fight his addiction to drugs and alcohol. now he's helping hundreds of others. meet cnn hero scott strobe. >> to get on my bike and ride up in the mountains really just brings peace. in my drug and alcohol use, it was the opposite. i got into it pretty young. by the time i was 15, i was using pretty serious drugs. when i got sober and lost my group of friends because they

were still out drinking and using. i got into boxing, triathlon, climbing. i had this new group of friends. i had completely redefined myself. i thought how can we give this to other people? i am scott strode and want to help people find a better life. >> all the programs are free to anybody that has 48 hours sober. you see that you're capable of whatever you put your mind to. we have this common connection. it's easy to make new friends. we do bike rides, hiking, triathlon training, strength training. it is really just a new community of folks to hang out wit with. >> i'm an example of hitting rock bottom. heroin overdose. they had to jump-start me with the paddles. >> roll it over.

drill it in there. >> going out biking, boxing, hitting the bag really fills the void. it's the best sport i could imagine having. >> we're proud of being sober and we're having fun. come out and go climbing with us. scott is just one of our top ten honorees. only one will become cnn hero of the year and receive that coveted $250,000 check. who will it be? you decide. go to cnnheroes.com and make your pick. share your vote on twitter and facebook. cnn heroes, all-star tribute sunday, december 2nd. anderson cooper will host. black friday frenzy is in full swing. national retail federation estimates 147 million shoppers are expected to hit stores today and into the wind. plus we already know that online shopping is up nearly 20% so far. number of customers using mobile devices to check out deals

online has reached a new record. 28.5%. those numbers as of 9:00 pm eastern last night. we'll get an update on these records in a few minutes from the ibm benchmark survey. the worst decision in music history. now the beatles audition tape, famously rejected way back in 1962 is up for auction. the ten-track demos had an asking price of $48,000. my guess is this is going to go way higher. photograph negative of the band. said to be in pristine condition and contains american songs. john lennon, hair hadiesson, pete best. they were told the guitar groups were on their way out. later they signed with emi, of course. the rest is history. >> could you imagine? oops. >> on your way out.

>> exactly. power of the lobbyist. james spader about his scene-stealing role in the new movie "lincoln." two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger.

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i do about a 20-year-old pledge. if we do it his way, then we'll continue in debt and i just have a disagreement with him about that. lobbied republican lawmakers, including chamblis not to raise taxes. powerball jackpot keeps climbing and climbing and climbing toward a record. it is now at an eye-popping, jaw dropping $325 million. what would you do with that money? next drawing, by the way, is tomorrow night at 10:59 pm eastern time. actor james spader does a memorable turn in the blockbuster new movie "lincoln," playing w.n. bilbo, try ing ing get the anti-slavery amendment passed through congress. here is a look at the trio, as they meet for the first time with secretary of state william henry steward. >> doesn't come cheap. >> the president would be

unhappy to hear you did this. >> would he be unhappy to hear we lose? >> money i managed to raise for this endeavor is only for your fees, food and lodging. >> if that squirrel-infested attic you put us in is any measure you ain't raised much. >> should we get to work? >> now, w.n. bilbo, quite a character. doesn't really show up -- doesn't show up at all in team of rivals, the book that the movie is based on, not an historically well-known figure. what was it like to create the role? >> certain limited amount of archive material available about him. mainly correspondence between secretary steward and he during the time of these events. and a little bit of background stuff but we had no pictures of him and not a great deal of background about him. which was perfect for me. because it really meant that we were able to sort of fly in any

direction we wanted to, and did. >> with great success. everyone seems to love it. this movie gets into the workings of congress which at that time that was heat ed. those guys did not like each other. we talk a lot about the partisan divide right now. >> but it was very different then in that the divides were within parties, too. there really wasn't -- the aisle did not define the delineation between the two sides of an argument on any issue. it was divided within the parties. the republican party had liberal factions and very conservative factions and the democratic party had very liberal factions and conservative factions. so you not only were contending with people across the aisle. you also were -- there was tremendous argument and discourse within your own party, which in a way, i think, felt even more democratic because argument and discourse and

eventual compromise is the best that democracy can be. and things -- issues and legislation didn't work -- weren't just divided by party line. >> the 13th amendment, existence of the abolition of slavery all together. your character is unwith of the lighter ones. serious but light. >> daniel day-lewis, who is stunning as lincoln in this film, really -- and tony cushner and steven spielberg all quite pointedly tried to mind as much of his -- >> humor and personality. >> yes. he would seemingly tell stories or, you know, fairly bodied jokes that at times might seem inappropriate. at the end of the day i think they were sort of lightening his load at a tumultuous time for

him personally and obviously politically. >> you look like you're having a blast. >> i had a blast thon fion this. i did. it was so much fun making the picture. when i saw it, i so enjoyed the film. really, i think we were shooting the events that are depicted in the film are a very, very short period of time, just a few weeks in january of 1865. and we were shooting it in the very short period of time. the film schedule was about 10 weeks or something for such a massive film. it was a very, very quick schedule. and i think the scenes with w.n. bilbo that i -- my participation in the film was not only for myself having a lot of fun. i think for everyone involved, it was a bit of breath of fresh air from the rest of the intensity of shooting the picture. >> and it is an intense film. >> i did have to pull stephen aside after we had shot a couple

of scenes and i just -- i said, stephen, tell me that i'm at least making the same film that everyone else is making down here in richmond. i want to make sure that mine isn isn't, in tone, an entirely different animal from the rest of it. >> and he said? >> and he said, no, absolutely. keep going. full speed ahead. >> james spader, you were fantastic in the film with a character no one has ever seen before on scene. daniel day-lewis, what was he like? >> fantastic. >> did you feel like you were with lincoln? >> an exceptionally accessible president and would engage and love to engage and had a real appreciation for people. and irreveraence himself and daniel opened his heart in the same way that, as history told

us, lincoln did as well, whether a telegraphist, member of his cabinet, civilian on the street. and daniel was that as well. >> james spader, thank you so much. the film obviously "lincoln" in theaters now and great to see it. >> thank you. >> what a fun assignment. it's on my list. i know you saw it and really liked it. >> i really liked the movie. so interesting and so neat to talk to about the movie filmed in richmond. >> daniel day-lewis actually stayed in character as abe lincoln so much so that he would send text messages and sign them a for abe lincoln. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again.

time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. buy now. save later.